Bracing for brrrrr!

Valerie of Knitting in Pink has moved her blog because bloglines hasn’t been picking up her old blog for the past month or so. Stop by and visit her at her new location – and welcome to WordPress, Valerie! 🙂

Although I’m happy and productive (i.e., not slipping into SAD), I sure can’t come up with much of anything to blog about, beyond the fact that the high here on Saturday is going to be 0°F (no idea what the windchill will be). Knitting’s moving slowly. I have a project that’s keeping me busy while I’m at work. I moved the Feliway diffuser so it isn’t jammed behind the entertainment center; it seems to be diffusing now, although I haven’t noticed any changes yet. I bought a white noise machine for my downstairs neighbor, thanks to a suggestion from Michaele – hopefully that does the trick, eh?

Here’s another, more artistic bunny thumpers shot of Chaos. (Do you think it’s suitable for Playcat?)

“…zzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

“Mom said we can’t open the windows until spring. Do you think spring is tomorrow, big kitty?” -Mayhem

“…zzzzzzzzzzzz…” -Chaos

In which a cat is actually discovered on the cat bed

Round one voting for the 2007 Canadian Blog Awards is now open! MamaTulip’s been nominated for Best Family Blog – head on over and vote for her before 11:59 PST, January 21. (Of course, the Yarn Harlot has been nominated for several categories, too, including Best Blog and Best Activities Blog.)

Deb (aka Chappysmom) is having a contest celebrating some blog milestones, including her three-year blogiversary.


Although I’m sure no one remembers, we do actually have a cat bed around here. Here’s a picture of Chaos at six months of age (around March of 2003) actually using the cat bed. If he tried that now, he’d have to be surgically removed from it…

Anyway, I haven’t seen a kitty in the cat bed in forever… until one day when I simply flipped it over, bottoms up.

“What?” -Mayhem

“Really, this isn’t exciting enough to merit paparazzi.” -Mayhem

“Although it does merit some stretching.” -Mayhem

“You’re making mer nervous, Mom. Is there something about this cat bed that I should know? Are you waiting for it to devour me or something?” -Mayhem

Twitterpated Tuesday

Cheryl’s decided to plan out her gift knitting for the year in order to both use stash yarn and not drive herself crazy with deadline knitting, so she’s starting Project Sanity. She’s looking for a cool button for Project Sanity – if you create one and email it to her by midnight EST, January 25, your button could win you a yarny prize.

Hey, things weren’t so bad for Chaos in his bib yesterday – Jeanne’s cats got stuck wearing preemie hats… (Hmm, come to think of it, it was Jeanne’s inspiration that led to Chaos’s modeling a strawberry hat nearly two years ago.)

Woo-hoo! I won a Golden Spork Award (Crafting/Creative category) for the second year in a row! Thanks, Tink! I am honored indeed.

Reading Update
Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Lynsay Sands, Marjorie M. Liu, and Vicki Pettersson. If you’re a fan of Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series, this collection contains a story about Rachel as a teenager. If you’re a fan of Pettersson’s Zodiac series, this collection contains a story about the mysterious Zoe Archer, mother of Joanna Archer.
Creation in Death by J.D. Robb. The latest Eve Dallas and Roarke mystery – same dependable stuff. Mmm… Roarke…
Key of Knowledge and Key of Valor by Nora Roberts. Books two and three in the Key Trilogy were enjoyable, if rather predictable.
Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky. What’s not to like about a chick lit novel with this opening line: “They don’t teach witchcraft in library school.”
Spring Break and Wedding Bell Blues by Charlotte Douglas. I’m continuing to read and enjoy this low-key series about Florida ex-cop and PI Maggie Skerritt.
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. I much enjoyed the newest Mercy Thompson novel – and not a vampire to be found, CarrieK! Briggs is a skilled writer of paranormal fiction, and I’m already looking forward to the next book. Now, if only the cover illustrator would read the books and realize that Mercy only has one tattoo…

Viewing Update
The Importance of Being Earnest This exceedingly silly movie based on Oscar Wilde’s play has an exceptional cast, including Colin Firth, Judi Dench, and Rupert Everett.

Neener neener, big kitty! Do I look dumb enough to stick around when the bibs come out?!” -Mayhem

Happy National Dress Up Your Pet Day!

These cats put up with so much from me, I really couldn’t bear to dress them up in baby clothes or the like. I figured a bib was bad enough – Chaos certainly thought so!

“Woe is me.” -Chaos

“Maybe if I make myself really small, no one will notice me. Or the bib will go away.” -Chaos

“Stop looking at me! Oh, the shame, the shame.” -Chaos

“Maybe I can get free and regain some of my dignity…” -Chaos

“Hmph. This isn’t working out as I’d hoped. Woe.” -Chaos

Random bunny thumping

Don’t forget that Monday, January 14, is National Dress Up Your Pet Day! Trivially, today is National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day; Saturday is the Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day – how are you celebrating that one, FuriousBall?! 😉

CursingMama’s giving away Body Drama, an extremely frank “facts of life” book – stop by her blog for details on how to enter the contest, which ends midnight CST, January 16.

Heidi’s friend Christy recently had breast removal surgery and is about to go through chemo and radiation therapy. Heidi’s having a “Bits for Tits” contest – she’s collecting knitted/crocheted/sewn breasts for Christy’s amusement and use. If you send Heidi a crafted breast (or a chemo hat if you can’t picture yourself knitting/crocheting/sewing a breast) by February 14, you will be entered in a drawing for assorted fibery prizes!

KitKatKnit’s kitty Ruby has issued a “Bunny Thumper Challenge,” looking for the the kitty with the longest back feet (bunny thumpers), the daintiest back feet, and some randomly selected back feet. Contest closes midnight PST, January 17.

My, but it is very challenging to measure and photograph “bunny thumpers.” I got some very nice mouth measurements.

“Mwmph.” -Mayhem

“Mwmph. Mwmph!” -Mayhem

And some shots that required a fair amount of imagination as to where the end of the bunny thumper might be.

“What do you mean, ‘overhang’?! I don’t have ‘overhang’! Hmph.” -Chaos

This overexposed and poorly corrected shot was the best I managed of Chaos. (More accurate measurement while he was napping and I wasn’t hindered by a camera revealed that bit of his back leg to be 5.5″ long.)

“Sulking here! Leave me alone!” -Chaos

But finally I did get a good shot of May’s little bunny thumper, which was revealed to be somewhere between 4.5″ and 4.75″ – so hard to tell with all the squirming.

“I get a treat for this, right?” -Mayhem

Whew!

2007: The Year in Review

I know, I know, I’m a little bit behind in looking back on 2007. Good thing it isn’t going anywhere. 🙂 There’s an extremely cute cat picture in it for you if you make it to the end! (You can also look back at 2006 if you’re so inclined.)

But first – Deb has some more detail on what had her laughing so hard at the birthday gathering. (Note that Jeanne and I did not buy Deb those undies!)

Did you hear about the gasoline tanker that overturned in Minneapolis yesterday? That was less than a mile from where I live! I’m very glad I was working from home so I didn’t have to deal with the messed up traffic.

Major Events of the Year
Having surgery on October 3. I can’t believe how much healthier and happier I feel now – better than I have for two to three years.

My Knitblogger’s Tour of the West, including staying with Michaele and meeting Denver-area bloggers, going to Estes and meeting Margene and Cheryl and Mim and Jane, staying with Kristi

Finished Objects: 39

  • Socks – 19 pairs of adult socks, two pairs of toddler socks
  • Sweaters – one adult sweater, one baby sweater
  • Shawl – one
  • Bibs – nine
  • Dishcloths – two
  • Toddler dress – one
  • Calorimetry/head band – one
  • Afghan squares – for one charity project, assorted small squares
  • Cage liner – one

Works in Progress
Scrunchable velvet scarf, plain stripey socks, shaped cardigan (hush, Marina), Trekking 126 socks (shameful – I just need to sew down the picot edges!), neck cozy (hmm, I haven’t mentioned this on the blog – probably because I’m ambivalent about finishing it)

Skeletons in My Knitting Basket
Laptop bag (never finishing it, since I bought such nice cases for my laptop), Crazy slipstitch Meilenweit socks (mailed off to Brigitte to do with the yarn what she will!), probably a couple things from way back in the way back that I don’t feel like digging out!

Favorite Projects of 2007
Probably the Refined Raglan I knit for myself. I was also very fond of the shawlette I knit for Fraro and of the lacy toddler dress I knit.

Major Knitting Accomplishment
Finishing my Christmas knitting in November!

Favorite Yarns
Wool2Dye4 supersock that I’ve dyed (it’s a base yarn that has a comparable hand to yarns such as CTH), stripey Meilenweit, Trekking

New Techniques
Ack! I’m not coming up with anything! Probably because I didn’t take any knitting classes in 2007. I must’ve learned something… Anyone? Anyone?

The Year in First Lines
January
Reports of my demise were only slightly exaggerated… I spent six hours of New Year’s Day in the emergency room, getting fluids and antinausea meds for the most evil migraine I’ve had in 12 years (i.e., the last time a migraine sent me to the ER).

February
Secrets of Cat Photography Revealed (Part the First) Two things have inspired me to write this post. First, I promised the info to Michaele at least six months ago (whoops – sorry, Michaele!). Second, I regularly get emails and comments asking me how I manage to always get good cat photos.

March
Killing you with the cute Aw, thank you all so much for the kind words about my refined raglan and yesterday’s self portraits! *blush*

April
What I did with my weekend, or Meet the Peeves As I mentioned Friday, the Peeves came to Minneapolis for approximately 24 hours, en route to see more sights and meet more bloggers (Hi CarrieK! Hi La! Hi Laurie! You’ll have fun!!).

May
A message from Mayhem “Hi everyone! Mom said I could post today because she doesn’t feel very lively… something about anemia and having to take iron to feel better. I don’t really have anything to say, I just knew you would all really miss me if you didn’t get to see this cute picture of me! Bye!! I have to go look out the window now.”

June
And finally, some knitting Aw, Mayhem really appreciated all the sweet birthday wishes yesterday! For those who are wondering where the heck the year went, I didn’t get her until September last year. Whew! No lost summer of 2006 for y’all.

July
Feline groovy I’m a bit shocked at the blogging backlog I’ve developed – I need to post lots of thank yous for some wonderful gifts I’ve received, plus I haven’t even made it to the Estes Wool Market in my vacation narrative! So of course, I shall do neither of these things today.

August
Handy Mayhem butt I’ve mentioned swap-bot a few times recently. Kristi has a great post on how to establish a rating on swap-bot. Check out the Biteberry yarn in its new habit!

and on that same day (August 1)…

I am ok The Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during tonight’s evening rush hour.

September
Trying to catch up I took a bit of a computer break over the holiday weekend and am frightfully behind in bloglines. Please let me know if you’re having a contest you’d like me to mention, as I’ll probably read about it on your blog long after the deadline has passed… Thanks!

October
Monday meanderings I finished my Los Monos Locos on Saturday!

November
A Halloween walk Sock knitters – Kristi has written some very useful knitting and wear reviews for quite a few different sock yarns. If you’re a knitblogger somehow connected to Minnesota, you should join the Minnesota Knitters Ring.

December
We were all stricken with camnesia Thursday evening I picked up Kristi the Fiber Fool from the airport. We chatted and knitted while Chaos glared balefully and May tried to entice Kristi to open up the MGWT closet.


FuriousBall, dude, where’re those munchies you said you were going to get?” -Mayhem

Happy birthdays!

Kim’s having a blogiversary contest. Stop by to wish her happy blogiversary before midnight PST, January 13, and let her know what your favorite FO of 2007 was. There will be at least one randomly selected winner.

Ali’s having a UFO contest, which should tie in nicely with many of the knitting resolutions I’ve been reading around blogland. To participate, post about an unfinished object by January 21, then finish the UFO by February 7.


Monday was Deb’s 50th birthday and today is Jeanne’s 40th birthday! Happy birthday to both of you!! Last night we got together at Deb’s house and had a little birthday party. Deb made our traditional flourless chocolate cake, and there were, of course, cards and presents and lots of laughter.

Deb recently got a new black kitty, Sammy, so of course we spent some time admiring her.


“Hmph. But I ask you, does she have these fine wet wool socks to lie on? I bet not!” -Mayhem

Small box scandal!

Deb (aka Chappysmom) has a new blog home – stop by and check out her spiffy new digs!

Looking for your very own black feline knitwear model? Look no further – handsome LHBM seeks home.

ETA: My comments aren’t getting emailed to me this morning. Hmph. Usually they show up eventually… My apologies for not responding until whenever eventually is!!


“Let’s see if people really dig that lolcats lingo… I has some boxes!” -Chaos

“Why she infringing on my boxes?” -Chaos

“Why are you talking so funny, big kitty? Did you fall on your head?” -Mayhem

Sometimes geeking can be woeful

Don’t forget about Super International Pajama Day, coming up on February 3!

Many thanks to Jeanne and pao for assisting me with some blog woes over the weekend! The blog seems to be working fine again – whew! (I do admit to pestering Jeanne with the Yarn Harlot’s famous words: “Blog broken. Make blog go?”)

Also, in an effort to reduce comment spam, I’ve turned off commenting for posts more than 60 days old. Hopefully this doesn’t inconvenience anyone. 🙂

Reading Update
Heart of Stone: The Negotiator Trilogy, Book 1 by C. E. Murphy. This is the start of a new series by Murphy, and it was a very good read. Legal Aid lawyer Margrit Knight discovers that there’s more going on in NYC than she would ever have realized. This book has a dragon, a djinn, two selkies, a whack of gargoyles, and one vampire. (It’s ok, CarrieK – it’s definitely not a vampire novel. You’ll be ok. I promise.)
Web Mage by Kelly McCullough. This is an interesting premise – imagine that there’s also an mweb (magic web) in addition to the regular stuff on the internet… Sorceror and relative of the Fates Ravirn is just trying to get through the University of Minnesota’s CompSci program, so how did his life get so complicated?
Holidays Are Murder: A Maggie Skerritt Mystery by Charlotte Douglas. I continue to enjoy this low-key series about Pelican Bay, Florida, police detective Maggie and her former (police) partner, Bill. Since this series is published by a division of Harlequin, you may find them in the romance section instead of mysteries…
Key of Light by Nora Robert. This first book in the Key Trilogy was pretty good. Three modern women must solve an ancient puzzle while an evil sorceror attempts to thwart their efforts.
Hex Marks the Spot: Bewitching Mystery, Book 3 by Madelyn Alt. Maggie learns about Amish hexes when a local Amish craftsmen is found murdered.

Knitting Update
My black Velvet Touch “Scrunchable Scarf” continues to grow – and continues to be too unexciting to photograph. It is extremely soft and I’m quite happy with it.


*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…* -Chaos

“Wha……..?” -May

Can’t blog – geeking

In November, I posted about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program. I fully recognize that children in developing countries need many things more basic than laptops (such as clean water and food), but I also believe that education is incredibly important to those children; this program is one way of bringing technology and education to them. I’m sure that my perception of the OLPC was influeced by my fondness for cyberpunk novels, as well as by recently reading Geoff Ryman’s novel Air (about the effects of technology on traditional cultures).

Anyway! On Wednesday, my wee OLPC XO laptop arrived. For scale, the XO is sitting on The Knitter’s Book of Yarn; the XO is about 8.5″ wide, while Rurouni (the laptop in the background) is 11.5″ wide.

My big accomplishment of the evening was getting the XO connected to my wireless network (ChatNoir) and writing the first line of this post on it. 🙂 The keyboard is definitely kid-sized!

Not everyone around here was convinced that the XO was a welcome addition.

“Hmph. Don’t you already spend enough time on the computer?!” -Chaos

Those that could be reached for comment, that is…

“Wha…? Whatever. Hey, man, did you happen to see where that froofy nip toy went?” -Mayhem